1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates to an insulating sleeve for a beverage pitcher.
2. Background Of The Art
It is often desirable to keep a beverage cold outside of a refrigerator, without diluting the beverage with ice. Prior ideas to solve this problem have ranged from providing refrigerant in a separate housing adjacent a beverage container (e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 5,299,433), to providing insulating sleeves (e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 2,035,384 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,813,801) to be placed around the beverage container, to providing insulating stands upon which the container rests (e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,076).
Many prior art concepts are not suitable for use with pitchers having side handles, and/or permit advertising on only one surface of a sleeve (and thus require the use of an additional set of insulating sleeves when a second advertising message is desired). Others do not connect the insulating sleeve to the pitcher (they provide no insulation when the pitcher is picked up to pour a beverage). Still others involve costly and complicated components, or require the use of a velcro attachment running through the handle taking up needed finger space, and pose a risk of theft or vandalism when used at bars. Others use sleeves that must be removed before the liquid can be properly poured.
Thus, it can be seen that a need exists for an improved insulating sleeve for a beverage pitcher.